Storm Lake Proposes Holding FY27 Property Tax Levy Steady, Officials Weigh Tradeoffs

Storm Lake Finance Director Tyler Gibbons told the City Council at a Feb. 16, 2026 work session that the city will propose holding the Fiscal Year 2027 property tax levy steady at about $15.17 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, opening the presentation with the city’s guiding principle: "stability."

Gibbons laid out levy components that offset one another to preserve the overall rate. The Employee Benefits Levy is proposed at about $4.98 per $1,000 - down from the current year - while the Debt Service Levy remains essentially unchanged at about $1.31 per $1,000. Gibbons noted Storm Lake’s general obligation debt “continues to decline” as context for the stable debt service figure.

Insurance costs are a clear pressure point in the FY27 proposal. The Insurance Levy is proposed at about $0.78 per $1,000 and, Gibbons said, reflects an 11.73% increase in general property and liability insurance. He also reported that “Health insurance costs decreased slightly - for the first time in two decades - but other benefit categories rose,” highlighting tradeoffs in employee-benefit budgeting.

Storm Lake’s Consolidated General Fund Levy is tied to state rules under House File 718. Gibbons reported the city’s 1.41% non-TIF taxable growth for FY26-27 did not trigger the state limitation factor, allowing the city to “return to the maximum $8.10 levy” for that fund. That change in allowable levy capacity was a key determinant in how officials redistributed levy components while keeping the total rate level.

City Manager Keri Navratil credited last year’s difficult budget decisions—including position eliminations, program reductions, and operational changes—with putting the city in a stronger financial position today. Mayor Meg McKeon told the council that those cuts were made “without noticeable impacts to public services.” Gibbons framed the proposal by saying that while some levy components are increasing and others decreasing, the city worked to keep the total rate level.

The work session was posted on the City of Storm Lake Facebook agenda and included a wider slate of items: the Fiscal Year 2027-2031 Proposed Capital Improvement Plan Work Session, a City of Storm Lake Property Tax Presentation, and several resolutions and ordinances such as Resolution No. 34-R-2025-2026 approving a CDBG Procurement Policy and Ordinance No. 07-O-2025-2026 vacating a portion of Highview Drive - 1st Reading. The public could access the Feb. 16 meeting by telephone at 1-312-626-6799 or toll-free 1-888-475-4499, or by computer using Zoom Meeting ID 933 2006 3301 as listed on the Facebook notice.

Council members spent part of Monday night reviewing the levy proposal; the council will continue budget discussions in the coming weeks as staff prepare the full FY2027 budget "for approval this spring." The agenda also included resolutions to fix public hearing dates for conveyance and rezoning items on Highview Drive and 942 Oneida Street, though the specific hearing dates were not included in the public notice excerpts.